The Divine Powers
by Meteo63
Summary: Three young goddesses set out to create world of their own. But when everything goes wrong, they recruit the aid of a certain hero to protect Hyrule. Please review! [Note: the numbers in parentheses are for the footnotes at the bottom of the chapter
1. Prologue

**_Prologue _**

Hello, my name is Link. Now, I can already hear you wondering, "Which Link are you? The Hero of Time? The Hero of Twilight? Or the Hero of Winds?" Well, you see, the strange thing about this is that, in reality, I'm all the Links simultaneously. That's right; all those Links you ever knew, they're all me. Hold on, hold on, I'll bet you're already jumping ahead to the next question, "How could that be?" The answer is very quite simple, I think (Nayru and Zelda would know more about that), but I'm afraid I can't yet explain those details. I have a much more important story to begin today, so listen very carefully…

Do you know the story of the three goddesses of Hyrule? I mean, do you really know it? There is a lot more to it than what you know currently, that I'm sure of. But for the sake of those who know nothing of the great sisters, I will repeat the legend that all children learn as a bedtime story. Ahem! Are you ready? Here we go:

_"Before time began, before spirits and life existed... Three golden goddesses descended upon the raging chaos that was Hyrule... Din, the goddess of power; Nayru, the goddess of wisdom; and Farore, the goddess of courage..._

_Din, with her great flaming arms, forged the land and created the red earth, with all its deep valleys and towering peaks. Nayru poured her infinite wisdom into the earth and gave the spirit of supreme law to the world. Farore, with her rich and lively soul, produced all the numerous life forms who would uphold that law._

_The three great goddesses, their individual labors completed, departed for the heavens, where they remain to this very day, watching over our land. And golden sacred triangles remained at the point where the goddesses left our world to return to their own. Since then, these sacred triangles, also called collectively the Triforce, have become the basis of our world's providence. And, the resting place of the triangles has become the Sacred Realm."_

This is the story that everyone knows. In fact, this is all that most denizens of Hyrule understand about the three goddesses. The goddesses chose me to write this book due to my, ahem, unique perspective. This book will at last explain to all beings the true story of Din, Nayru, and Farore, as well as the many gods and goddesses under their rule. A personal journey for the goddesses and myself…


	2. Chapter 1 Selection Ceremony

_** Chapter 1  
Selection Ceremony **_

So, let's begin. This story should start from the beginning. The beginning of what? Well, imagine that you are a Hyrulean (which I'm guessing you are). What do you think the beginning is? The sealing away of the Triforce into the Sacred Realm is the beginning of most written records of Hyrulean history. Hmm, perhaps now you are thinking that the beginning is the creation of Hyrule and the Triforce. That's also a reasonable answer. I'm going to the next best choice: the birth of the three goddesses.

I can hear you saying now, "But haven't they been around forever?" You may think that, since Hyrule is everything you know. But the goddesses had to begin somewhere too. And so, let's rewind about fifty thousand years and step into a realm called the Society of Heaven. The Society of Heaven is the world in which all the gods in the universe live in. It's sort of a hub that links all the worlds that the gods create together. Anyway, that night was a dark and stormy night. Cliché, I know. Ahem… This was the worst storm the universe had ever seen. Its influence spread across the universe, causing all the individual realms to suffer bad weather. That was the night the creators of Hyrule were born.

Oh, another question? You are probably now asking me, "How can gods be born? Aren't they, like, gods?" Yes, they are gods. Oh, that part was a rhetorical question… Hmm, how should I go about answering this…? No, that's not appropriate for this—Oh, of course! Gods are born the same way mortals are. They have two parents, just like most of you. That's certainly not what many people believe, but that's how it is.

Now, when Din, Nayru, and Farore were about to be born, many of the gods in the Society of Heaven got real excited about it. Why? See, gods are born very rarely, because the King of the Gods, Torvanos, wants to preserve the balance of power in the universe. If new gods pop up all the time, the balance of the universe might get, well, screwed up. Why is the so important to Torvanos? Torvanos is the God of Order and Balance, so his job is to keep things all smooth in the universe and make sure that the natural balance of the worlds is upheld.

Anyway, the storm got worse and worse, which is what always happens when gods are born. Their magical energy starts leaking out and causing all sorts of problems, like weather going haywire. Then, when the goddesses were actually born, everything cleared up, because once they were born, they could finally control all of that energy. When everyone saw the goddess triplets, they knew something was unique about them, even though the goddesses acted pretty much like all other god children. Everyone saw the potential in them—the potential to create a world all of their own.

Now, nobody believed in them more than their mother, who was Illaido, Goddess of Time. She keeps time moving forward at the same steady rate in all the worlds. Her job sounds easy, but it is just as important as Torvanos'. Heh, the funny thing is that Torvanos is the father of the three goddesses, even though he tries to keep the number of god births to a minimum. Anyway, the goddesses began to develop powers as they grew up. These powers are the normal stuff gods can do, like control certain elements, form basic elements using magic, and have incredible intelligence. Then, when they were each about ten thousand years old, their true specialties were revealed. And you know what those are, right? …What? You want me to tell you what they are, even if it is incredibly obvious? Sigh… Okay, Din, Nayru, and Farore, are the goddesses of power, wisdom, and courage, respectively.

Their positions in the universe were chosen ahead of time, actually. Every ten thousand years, all gods born during the last ten thousand years can learn of their specialties at a Selection Ceremony. On that particular Ceremony day, all the gods without positions in the universe headed to the Temple of Balance, located at the central city of the Society of Heaven. Each god readied him or herself to learn of their eternal element in the universe. Torvanos and Illaido, the head gods, are the only ones who can know all this information beforehand. Anyway, Torvanos began to call out names from the podium at which he stood…

"Khanlya," he called. At the sound of her name, a young goddess stood up from the crowd, a cocky smile dancing across her face. Her skin was lightly tanned and she wore a slim orange tunic. Red hair hung down to below her shoulders and, sheathed on belt, were two curved short swords. Though she was a goddess and had no real use for mortal weapons, she seemed to have a fascination with mortal affairs.

As Khanlya stood, a red-haired girl from the crowd waved encouragingly at her. Din whispered "Good luck!" and Khanlya nodded in reply. She turned to face the God of Balance, who gestured for her to step up to the stage. Slowly and confidently, she strode up the perfect marble stairs and then next to the elder god.

Torvanos nodded solemnly. "Khanlya," he said again, "you are… the Goddess of Sand. Congratulations." He extended a hand for her to shake as the temple auditorium rumbled with applause.

Khanlya cheered silently. That was possibly the best choice she could've received. Why? The broader the element that you are granted power over, the more authority you will gain in the Society of Heaven. Khanlya nodded gratefully and shook the god's hand firmly. Then she carefully stepped down from the stage and took her seat.

"Wow, she got a good one," muttered Din. "Sand is everywhere, you know? That's a lot of power."

Farore leaned over and whispered, "You think she can handle that?" Her green eyes twinkled.

"What do you think? Of course she can!" replied Din. "She's one of the strongest gods to ever—"

"Power isn't everything, is it Din?" spoke Nayru calmly, her blue eyes slyly watching Din for her reply.

"It is! At least, most of the time. If she did not have power, she would have been given a much lower position!" Din asserted. The sound of Torvanos clearing his throat interrupted the goddesses' debate. The three sisters turned back to the stage, to listen to the next name that would be called.

"Din, Nayru, Farore," called out Torvanos, in his somber tone. Din, trying to appear calm, confidently climbed the steps and turned to her father. Nayru slowly and shyly stepped up behind Din. At last, Farore followed with no sign of anxiety, only a joyful excitement.

"Din," began Torvanos, "you are… the Goddess of Power. Congratulations." An enormous rumble of applause exploded in the room. Din watched the crowd with a surprised look on her face, which quickly became a look of pride. "Nayru," started Torvanos again, "you are… the Goddess of Wisdom. Congratulations." Nayru's eyes widened for a brief moment, and then she seemed to accept her position with a nod. "And Farore," announced Torvanos, "you are… the Goddess of Courage. Congratulations." Farore nodded eagerly and leapt up with a cry of exuberance.

Torvanos smiled a rare smile and extended his hand to shake the hands of his three daughters. The storm of clapping continued. Din, Nayru, and Farore had been assigned the three of the most coveted positions in the universe. This was major. The three goddesses were extremely young for gods and never before had gods at such an age been granted such high positions. This is huge, especially for all of you down there in Hyrule, because otherwise you never would exist! Great, isn't it?

Okay, now, the thing that happened next… For all you Hyruleans down there, this event was also hugely important. Alongside the appointment of the three goddesses to their current positions, this event changed the course of Hyrulean history. Now, what was this event? I suppose I can't hide the truth anymore, so… I'll just keep going with the story.

Torvanos raised his hand to announce the position of the next god who had already stepped quietly on the stage. Torvanos turned to me and said, "Link, you are God of Heroes. Congratulations."


	3. Chapter 2 Origins of Hyrule

****

_**Chapter 2  
Origins of Hyrule **_

Perception… How people perceive one another is everything. Do you understand why I did not tell you before? I didn't want any readers to think differently of me due to any status that I have. I just wanted to be known as Link for all those people who know me. But the truth had to come out. For the sake of this story. And so let all know that I, Link, am the God of Heroes.  
A blast of applause flooded my ears as a burst of elation and shock filled my body. God of Heroes? I never expected such a high rank. I wasn't especially powerful or anything; just normal powers. Nothing that was out of the ordinary. I wondered why I had been chosen for something like this. On a whim, I scanned the crowd for the three goddesses and spotted Farore, Nayru, and Din clapping along with everyone else. Then, to my sudden surprise, Farore gave me a single, sly wink. Did she have something to do with this? I immediately made the connection between her element of Courage and my element of Heroes and couldn't help but wonder if I'd be working with her later on in my life. I'd have to ask her later. I couldn't think about this anymore, because Torvanos was now calling another name out.

I hurriedly stepped down from the stage as he announced, "Twilazor, please come to the stage." As I strode down the aisle, a strange being stood and brushed roughly past me. Twilazor glanced at me coldly with his steely orange eyes and twisted his black cloak around his dark blue body. I shivered involuntarily and sat hurriedly down in my chair. I peered up—suddenly nervous—at Twilazor, who marched confidently up to the stage, as if expecting something. I automatically guessed that he would be assigned some position having to do with darkness or shadows. No, his black cloak, creepy eyes, and dark skin had nothing to do with it. _Yes_, that was sarcasm.

"Twilazor, you are God of Twilight. Congratulations!" A twisted grin of pride flashed across the god's face for a brief moment and then vanished, hidden once more into the shadow of his cloak. Then, after what seemed to be forever, Twilazor at last stepped down from the stage. Still, no one clapped, as if they feared his newfound power.

Then, another name was announced. Torvanos cleared his throat and called out, "Zayrin." No one stood for a brief moment, and then a thin male figure stood slowly, dressed in drab gray clothes. Slowly, he ambled casually up to the stage as if this was merely another day of his life, though the excited glint in his eyes showed otherwise. Ah yes, Zayrin. You may not know this, but this god is the older brother of the three goddesses. He was born several years before his sisters, but his powers developed much more slowly. I guess he was sort of overshadowed by them, in a sense.

Torvanos glanced briefly at the scroll which lay open in front of him. "Hmm… Oh dear," he mumbled upon reading Zayrin's assignment. Then, he slowly turned back toward his son, who tapped his foot impatiently. At last, the God of Balance decided to speak. "Uh, Zayrin, you are the God of Trickery. Ahem… Congratulations?" I noticed then that Torvanos seemed quite unsure of whether to be proud or fearful.

"Trickey? Like, pranks and stuff?" Zayrin's eyes brightened with glee. "Alright, pretty sweet! Look out, here comes the God of Trickery!" With that, the god leapt off the stage and ran down the aisle, amidst scattered and tentative clapping. Torvanos gave an inaudible sigh of concern and turned back to his scroll.

The ceremony continued much longer after that, but most of the gods were assigned lowly and extremely specific jobs, such as the God of Candles or the ever-so embarrassing God of Cow Manure(1). And I really don't want to cover everything, especially not, ahem, that. After all, I am not the God of Patience, am I? Besides, only Khanlya, Twilazor, and Zayrin would have any great impact on the history of Hyrule.

Let me skip ahead a little bit, to the party after the ceremony. That's right, gods can have parties too; mortals aren't the only one who enjoy having a good time. But that isn't the important thing. The important thing is that this party was where the concept of a world called "Hyrule" was created. The crowd slowly dispersed and the hundreds of gods streamed toward the Palace of Heaven, which is basically the central government building. Today, though, it was borrowed for the purpose of congratulating and celebrating the new gods in the universe. I followed with the crowd, my head turned up in awe at the palace and its enormous dome that loomed over the city. From the dome, the rest of the palace spread out into a flat disc shape, though it was still likely thirty stories high. In other words, this is the likely the biggest building in the universe.

If you compared the palace to the temple from before… Well, let's just say that the temple is completely dwarfed by the magnificence of the palace, with its extravagant designs and all. Hundreds of different gods stormed through the grand golden doors that loomed fifty feet overheard. Inside, the ballroom stretched a massive five hundred feet into the distance. Lining the walls were a series of the most amazing, flawless diamonds you'd ever see, enfolded in a series of gold and silver designs. Above, a seemingly random angular pattern rippled across the domed ceiling, tracing intriguing gold lines among the silver background. My first visit to the Palace of Heaven, and I was not disappointed by its splendor.

Within, black tables—not just any tables, but those forged from a near indestructible metal called Drakonium(2)—were arranged in several rows and all were covered in all sorts of exotic foods—a feast fit for a god. I glanced around at the food and nearly gagged from the rush of smells and sights. So this was food that mortal kings ate. The first thing that caught my eye was the enormous—thing—in the center of the room. Some sort of pig-creature, but it wasn't the normal farm raised animals. I believe it was a specially bred giant boar from the world Nyruba(3). At least that's what the God of Cooks would say about it whenever I asked him. Between me and all of you… it was a hideous creature that stretched to a massive thirty feet long. So, that was the main course.

Then I noticed the masses of vegetable dishes. The items that stood out the most included elongated mushrooms of incredible length, a strange root that twisted around itself into an immense knot, and fried potatoes sliced into thin pillars—I believe they are called "fries(4)". I turned away from those fat-filled potatoes, though. Even though gods don't have any need to actually consume food, the thought of eating such… unhealthy food sickened me. Other disgusting mortal foods filled the room, so I quickly searched for a more ordinary food. I snatched up a familiar creature—a lobster—and set about disintegrating its external shell. As I nibbled up the crustacean's succulent meat, I realized that no one else ate such commonplace dishes as I did. Perhaps it comes to show that even as a god myself, I feel closer to the run of the mill mortals than gods.

As I wandered around the party, occasionally another god or goddess would formally congratulate me. This was actually a bit of blur to me, because it really wasn't all that important. The only one I really remember talking to was Bruguini, the God of Cooks. He takes the appearance of a portly and perpetually grinning man in a chef's apron. He said congrats and gave me a (painful) pat on the back, but immediately went off and asked me if I enjoyed the food, especially concerning himself with the fact that he had spotted Zayrin, the new God of Trickery wandering around the kitchen. Immediately, I disintegrated the lobster I was eating with a burst of fire from my hand. Who knew what Zayrin had put in the food?

Then, I finally caught sight of Din, Nayru, and Farore, talking with the most important guests. So, these guys are basically the most powerful gods in the universe that rule over the huge things. Among them, I caught sight of the Dormades, the Death God, showering his son, Twilazor, with all sorts of praise. The God of Twilight sulked besides his father's menacing figure, obviously embarrassed. Next to him, his mother, the Goddess of Night, stood quietly with a thin smile of pride on her lips. Torvanos and his daughters all seemed to be trying to pay attention to what Dormades was saying, but failing miserably. Off to the side, Khanlya's mother, the lovely Goddess of Earth, was engaged in a heated discussion with Sprotosia, the God of Water. From the looks of things, it seemed as if he was trying to explain his distaste of Khanlya's position over sand. Typical(5).

Anyway, I glanced back over to Torvanos, who seemed to be anxiously scanning the crowd as if searching for someone. Suddenly, he seemed to spot me and his eyes widened. "Ah, if it isn't our young God of Heroes," called out the God of Balance, probably hoping to dodge out of Dormades' droning speech. "I'd like you to meet our guests. Link, this is—" He gestured to Dormades, but was abruptly interrupted.

"Link!" cried out an excitable voice. "Congratulations!" Before I knew what hit me, a green blur grabbed me in a friendly hug. I quickly rolled out of Farore's grasp and turned to her beautiful grinning face and her joyful eyes.

"Hello Farore," I greeted, out of breath. I suddenly remembered that I had a rather important question for her. "Listen, I need to—"

"Farore, really," scolded Torvanos, interrupting my question. "You need to learn to be respectful to our guests. Link, this is…" He turned me away from Farore and quickly introduced me to all the important gods. Dormades nodded curtly at me, Sprotosia gave me a friendly but firm handshake, and Gaiyana—the Goddess of Earth—gave me a warm and pleasant smile. I already knew who many of these gods were, but I had never before met them in person. Then it was all over, and Torvanos began to speak to me.

He said, "Come, Link, I wish to have a discussion with you. As a new up-and-coming god, I believe you need to learn the basic steps of being a god…" As he trailed off into the duties and responsibilities of a god and began to walk me off elsewhere, I glanced back at Farore, who gave me a sheepish grin. I sighed; I'd have to ask my question later on when I didn't have to speak with the big-shot gods.

I wasn't ever really good with social events, but it would be rude to dodge out of a conversation with the head of the gods, even if it was boring. Still, that conversation was rather important, as I learned many new things. He mentioned how to effectively listen to the prayers of the mortals and respond to them. I supposed that I'd be receiving these messages mostly from the heroes who go off to fight evil monsters and what not. After Torvanos finished, he told me sincerely, "I believe you will do well out there, Link." I realized then that I hadn't really thought much yet about actually doing things as a god. I need some time to think, so I decided to take a little breather on one of the many balconies lining the building.

I glanced out at the beautiful and perfect white buildings of the gods. All my life, this was where I had been. But now, it was my turn to go out into the universe and do something on my own. The enormous realization stunned me and I wondered, what could I possibly do out there? The God of Heroes… Just like Torvanos said, one day _I_ might be a god that heroes across the universe would look up to and thank. The idea seemed almost laughable at the time, but yet could easily happen in the future.

"Good evening, Link! How are you doing?" asked a voice. Farore's voice. My thoughts flew back to the last time I had truly been able to speak with her. I guess that Farore was the sister that I knew the best, even though I had only met her several times. She was almost royalty in the Society of Heaven, so I was rarely able to speak to her or her sisters. Still, the three goddesses were long-time friends of mine, for at least five thousand years.. "I hope Father didn't bother you _too_ much," added Farore. "He's always like that with the new gods."

"Hello, Farore," I said, without a glance behind me. "How'd you get away from all your adoring fans? I didn't even get to say a single word to you."

Farore frowned. "That… was a joke? It was, right?"

"Of course it was, Farore," assured Nayru, approaching calmly. She glanced at me with those twinkling blue eyes of hers and said, "Link, you did… _quite_ well today. I hope to perhaps work with you in the future?"

"I thought… Aren't I gonna be working with you, Farore? After all, you are the Goddess of Courage and…"

"Yes, I'm the Goddess of Courage and you are the God of Heroes." Farore watched the sky thoughtfully, as if puzzling over something. "Of course!" she cried. "If you wish to do so, you can work with me on my new project." New project? Little did I know how utterly enormous this project of theirs would become. How much it would alter the fragile fate of our brittle little universe.

"_Your _project?" cut in Din suddenly, striding in from behind us, a wide smile on her face. "It appears as if the project has suddenly turned into your endeavor, rather than ours. Well, Farore?" Maybe if Farore had done it by herself, things wouldn't happen the way they did. The participation of her sisters would lead Hyrule down a darker path than intended.

"Oops, sorry. _Our_ project, of course," amended Farore with a grin.

"What is this project that you are beginning?" I asked curiously.

"It's a creation project! What did you think, Link? Well, first of all," explained Farore, "we'd need a Creation License(6)." Ah, now I saw exactly what this project was. The sisters were preparing to create a world of their own, now that they had official positions in the universe. Only with positions could the gods attempt to create a world of their own.

"Then," continued Farore, "we can finally get started with our blueprints for this world. Oh, this is going to be so much fun, won't Nayru? Our world will be full of original concepts that no one else thought of yet! We'll make the best world the universe has ever seen!" Best? Or worst? Hyrule would become a wonderful world, with a tragic and dark history. Can one really say whether this land is a land of good or evil? I… don't have an answer to that.

"It is notoriously difficult to stray from the world creation formula(7) set so long ago," reasoned Nayru. "We must conform to it, Farore. Besides, Father will insist we stick with it." Perhaps Nayru was right that the formula should be followed. Perhaps it was the three goddesses' meddling that had changed the course of history.

"What? Of course we can stray from it," argued Din. "We have enough power to create a world however we like. No one's going to tell us what to do, least of all Father!" Torvanos—was he a tad too lenient in allowing his daughters to continue their experimentation? That answer… I do not have one, even today.

But I do know what did happen. At the time that I am writing this, I have decided that I cannot dwell on what could have been, or should have been. It is best… to strive to improve the future and record what happen in the past, to prevent repeat mistakes.

"I agree, Din. Originality is what we're going for, right? Link?" Farore turned to me inquiringly. "Do you wish to aid us in our project?" My answer to the question ultimately changed the history of the Hyrule and the universe as well. If I hadn't said yes, then… the universe would be extremely different than it is today. That's how important this conversation was: nearing "destiny" on my importance scale.

"Of course I'll help," I replied. Why not? I'd be working under Farore anyway and this would be the perfect chance to get started in the universe as a god.

Farore clapped her eyes excitedly. "Then it's decided! You can help us with our new world… starting with a name!"

"What?" I was pleasantly surprised at the opportunity Farore was offering me. This would be what the inhabitants of the land would be calling their home for thousands of years! "Are you sure?" I asked tentatively. "It's your project; your world! I can't just…" I let the sentence go unfinished and looked to Farore for an answer. She nodded silently, followed suit by her sisters. I cast my mind out to search for the right combination of letters that would create the perfect name. Something… strong, yet not overbearing. Something simple. Suddenly, the letters clicked in my mind and I said, "How about… the land of _Hyrule_?"

(1)Ah yes, the God of Cow Manure. The guy was pretty sad already, but his appointment as _that_ basically cemented his position as the weakest god that ever existed. Still, you never know. He could rise up and destroy a world or two with his vaults of cow poop.

(2)Drakonium comes from a world called Dranore, which is controlled mostly by dragons. The God of Forges was the first to discover Drakonium, which is the only material in the universe to be harder than dragonscales.

(3)Nyruba. Never been there. From what I've heard, it has an incredibly diverse ecosystem and billions (literally) of animal and plant species. I believe it was the God of Life's first project. Of course, with so many kinds of plants and animals, Nyruba becomes an easy source of food for the gods, since no one notices a missing giant boar or two.

(4)From a world called Earth, I believe. I do not know which god created that world, but I do know that that planet has the least healthy food in the universe. Seriously. Have you SEEN the grease dripping off their items in those "fast-food" restaurants? Horrible.

(5)The Goddess of Earth and the God of Water have had a millenia-long argument over the pros and cons of land and water. Whenever aiding in the creation of a world, there have always been fights over whether there would be more land or more water on the planet's surface. In fact, there was once a war between the two of them where they actually summoned creatures that fought each other for dominance of the world. The only thing they succeeded in was creating an incredibly diverse landscape.

(6)A Creation License allows the god who owns it to create a world and privately own all parts of that world. It's basically a permit. The world of gods is much like the world of mortals in that you need permission for many things. The god who first aided humans in evolving beyond their simple ape-like nature learned that the hard way. Still, the gods did warm up to them eventually.

(7)The creation formula forbids gods from actually entering the realm where their world exists. They must influence the movement of particles in that universe from the Society of Heaven. Those particles would eventually form into a world, which they could try to shape. Attempting to enter the other realm to directly shape a world requires vast amounts of energy that might have unknown consequences. And that would be exactly what the goddesses would do. They directly broke the creation formula. Still, there were several factors that were entirely not their fault. I'll get to that later.


	4. Chapter 3 Into the Palace

**_Chapter 3  
Into the Palace_**

"Excuse me?" I asked, hoping to catch the attention of the guard on duty. He stood at attention in front of the massive gates of the Palace of Heaven, watching for visitors—or intruders. He was not a god, but a Greater Spirit(1), most likely working for the God of the Sword or something. Behind him, I could see the great golden dome glinting with a subtle glow outlined by a streak of silver running around its edge. The rest of the palace was built with silvery-white stone capable of incredible structural support and outstanding endurance, known only as Zarumine(2).

"Eh? Who are you?" He turned his head and saw me, standing on the beautifully paved road leading to the entrance of the palace. The palace was in the shape of a circle, so at regular intervals several massive entrances had been constructed, each guarded by several Greater Spirit soldiers and at least one guard tower. The guard didn't recognize me right away, but then his face lit up in recognition. "Ah, the God of Heroes. Do you wish to visit someone, my lord(3)?"

"I'm here to see Farore and her sisters? They said I could drop by and…" The guard swiftly held up a hand to show that he understood. Then, with a quick upward glance, he gave a complex hand signal to the guards sitting in the white tower above.

"Open up for the all-powerful God of Heroes!" he cried and the enormous doors—at least four times my height—immediately began to swing open with a slow creak reminiscent of the strength of the ever-so stubborn earth. I winced, not from the creak, but from the all-idiotic adjective slapped in front of my title. Geez; all-powerful? Sighing in exasperation, I swiftly stepped into the palace, hoping to avoid further embarrassment.

The enormous room echoed with the sound of my footsteps on the tiles as I strode quickly down to the massive door ahead. The door I was headed toward was identical to two others that led to the left and the right. The ones to the side would keep me in the outermost ring of the palace, where only the guards lived. I was visiting Din, Nayru, and Farore, so I would have to head deeper into the structure, until I reached what was called the core of the palace. Nearing the door that was ahead of me, I noticed that the series of columns on each side of me had laces of gold and silver wrapped around their white bodies that melded seamlessly with the smooth ceiling above.

I immediately caught attention of the fact that white, gold, and silver were the dominant colors all over the palace. The first ring that I was standing in now was mostly plain white, though being simple gave the area a look of amazing elegance and beauty. The gold and silver additions merely served as a light touch to provide eye candy for visitors.

I gently pushed the white door open, noting the golden eagle symbol with silver wings upon its surface. Torvanos' symbol(4). Stepping forward, I knew that I was almost into the second ring of the palace. And then, there it was! The second ring! In this area, I could easily tell that the prevalent colors were white and gold both, while silver was only used for outlining certain designs or lacing between the alternating pure white and shimmering gold tiles below my feet. Upon the ceiling, white and gold were wrapped together in a weaving dance, where it was nearly impossible to tell where the territory of gold vanished and became the land of white.

The entire structure was an incredible work of architecture, I realized with awe as I observed the twisting of the columns in the area. I wondered how long the Goddess of Architecture had worked on the Palace of Heaven. Soon, my mind left that subject and turned its attention one more to the architecture and artwork around me. The third ring was my next stop.

The realm of silver. That is essentially what the third ring is, for silver dominates over its cousins gold and white. While the first ring was reminiscent of the purity of flawless diamond and the second similar to the light the stars emanate across many planets, the third ring remind my distinctly of the night sky for some reason. Silver in its lonesome gives one the impression of things being darker, save for the appearance of gold in several spots, including the designs across the ceiling and running along the sides of the walls.

At last, the fourth ring came into view. In this one, all three colors complement each other in a multitude of ways. The trinity of colors brought to my mind—strangely, the thought of the three goddesses that I knew so well yet knew so little about. Farore, along with her pleasant and vibrant personality, was much like the bright and shining light of gold. The subdued silver brought to me the thought of Nayru, her wisdom and great intelligence hidden beneath her quiet and thoughtful nature. Finally, the color white and its simple yet strong characteristics was much like Din, the Goddess of Power. In these ways, the goddesses complemented each others abilities much like the three colors throughout the palace.

These colors reached further into the palace, into the final sector of the palace, which was not a ring. No, the core had at last presented it to me! The core of the palace was a huge area that fits nearly perfectly below the massive golden dome thirty stories above. Indeed, each ring has thirty stories, meaning, if you are intelligent enough to realize it, that the palace is, for lack of a better word, really big. Okay, fine, enormous.

Anyway, the bottom floor of the core… reminds me of a hotel lobby. Everything's on the upper floors, but you need something on the bottom floor. So they just put stuff there. Columns of white supported the ceiling and surrounded a massive central area, about the size of… perhaps one of the larger monster arenas that I've fought on? Gold and silver, one bright and one subdued, supported each other on the tiles rippling across the floor. Outside that area fenced off by the pillars, white floors shared space with the golden walls inlaid with elegant silver designs.

I stepped down the steps into the central area, noticing that only Farore stood there to wait for me. Where were her sisters?

"Link! You're here!" cried a cheerful Farore, almost running toward me once she caught sight of me. "Are you ready? We're getting our Creation License today, so we can start soon!" Farore was obviously extremely excited and it was hard to believe she could talk so fast while simultaneously catching me in a joyful hug, which I could not escape from.

"Calm yourself, Farore," murmured a voice. I glanced around, searching for Nayru among the many columns, but then, she appeared from out of nowhere, light glittering in her long blue hair. "We must not act too hastily, for a creation project could potentially backfire." Her face remained solemn and I sensed a touch of anxiety beneath her demeanor.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked, suddenly unnerved. Why did she say it that way? Like what we were doing was going to be exceedingly dangeroud… Of course, I later learned that they were going to be entering another realm, which is breaking the creation formula… But don't worry; at least they had a plan that almost worked!

Nayru did not answer the question, not until much, much later. But I sensed that something was up about this plan. This time, she only said, "We must wait here for our sister, Link. Din is not quite ready to leave for the Bureaucratic Office of Heaven(5)."

"Okay," I said, wondering what Din was doing. What was Din doing that required so much time, anyway?

Nayru saw the questioning look in my eyes and immediately answered, "Din… is not familiar with paperwork and filling forms, Link. She's more of a straightforward thinker."

"Yep!" agreed Farore. "She's not used to the roundabout logic of bureaucratic paperwork. It was sooo boring!" exclaimed Farore, making a disgusted face.

I nodded in sympathy and understanding. I had just went through much the same thing, being forced to sign hundreds (no kidding) of papers, just to satisfy the most evil god in the universe, the God of Bureaucracy(6).

Just then, an enormous blast of fire slammed into the ground next to us, revealing Din, who quickly shook the sparks of fire from her hair. She clutched a couple of browned scrolls, which strangely were not caught by Din's teleportation fire. The Goddess of Power glared at the wrapped up pieces of paper with such hatred that I looked away. She must really hate all forms of paperwork.

"I'm ready!" declared Din, an obviously false smile plastered across her face. It seemed as if she was only barely holding herself back from incinerating all the scrolls instantly.

Farore nodded and clapped her hands, calling out, "Let's go!" It was time to warp. Each time a god must travel long distance, it is preferred to simply use teleportation magic to bend space around them. This is what we prepared to do now. The real reason that I did not teleport directly into the confines of the palace is because I honestly wanted to see the inside of the other rings besides only the core.

Each god has a certain spark upon which they call all of their energy from. A source of near infinite magic, but is often centered only on the divine being's element. My element, for instance, is heroism. As you may have realized by this point, I can do certain mystical feats besides those related to my element; however, great acts of magic centered on my element belong to me and me only. Isn't that neat? It's just like a copyright…

It feels weird to tap into that spark for just about anything, especially since I rarely do it at all. All I can really say is that the divine energy from it feels… extremely powerful, as if you had the ability to do anything you wished however you like. That power filled up my body now and I quickly let a small part of that release in the form of a teleportation spell. I probably could have done something huge with all that power, but I had no need for anything else at the time.

Every time a divine entity uses his or her spark, they briefly appear in their true divine form(7), which is theorized to be too awe-inspiring for most mortals to handle. It hasn't ever happened before, but most gods believe that they would simply explode or collapse into a pile of ashes. The energy expanded and enveloped me in a barrier of light… and then we were gone.

(1)Greater Spirits are entities who are not quite as strong as gods, but have many weaker abilities. The Society of Heaven is not just inhabited by gods, but also other beings with similar anatomical structure, such as being partly made up of energy instead of just flesh. There are three major levels of beings that I know. Gods are the most powerful, followed by Greater Spirits, and Lesser Spirits are next. There are other smaller sub-types that fit into these groups. For example, the wisp is a Lesser Spirit that is likely the weakest thing I've ever seen. You could probably kill one by breathing on it.

(2)Zarumine is extremely rare in the universe, appearing on very few worlds—perhaps because the gods do not care to share this invaluable material with their mortal worshippers. Zarumine is a stone that has the amazing property to—when a certain form of magic is used—to fuse with other chunks of the stuff, allowing huge things to be built. Now, it isn't just useful for that, it's also actually kinda pretty, since you can make it whatever color you want, with the use of magic. Think of the nicest color you can and mix it with silver. It almost glows with an inner light… Anyway, that's why the gods use this for building things.

(3)Greater Spirits and Lesser Spirits who are sentient (as opposed to simple mindless monsters) are supposed to call gods "my lord" or "my lady" and annoying stuff like that. I never really feel powerful enough to be given a title like that. I really wonder: don't people like Torvanos ever get sick of that stuff? Seriously, he's been here for, what, nine thousand years? I'd go crazy from all the "my lord" and "my liege" and "sir" and all that stuff.

(4)As people in a certain country on a certain planet knew when they declared independence, the eagle is a symbol of order and freedom. This is essentially what Torvanos stands for, so it is clear why he chose the very same bird as his emblem.

(5)This is where much of the day-to-day "business" occurring in the world of the gods actually happens. The Bureaucratic Office used to deal with paperwork and millions of scroll each day, but once the God of Computers was born, the technological age hit the Society of Heaven. Now we use computers for almost everything, just like humans. Of course, our computers are far superior to two certain varieties that everyone argues about… You know what I'm talking about, don't you?

(6)Okay, maybe he isn't the most evil god in the universe, but I bet he's laughing right now, because at this very moment, someone somewhere is going through the horrible experience of signing hundreds of papers just for the sake of bureaucracy.

(7)Almost always do gods remain in a form resembling a mortal, since it ultimately expends less energy than using their true forms. You are probably expecting me to describe this divine form thing (mine, of course, right?), but, suffice to say, I don't know if you could handle it. So if I were to appear next to you right now in a divine form, you would probably just see a huge blast of light and a silhouette of a (extremely handsome) figure that you can't make out because your brain can't handle what it is taking in. Or you would explode in a million pieces due to the shock of the mighty God of Heroes merely giving you the honor of his awe-inspiring presence. But that's just my guess.


	5. Chapter 4 Enter the Bureaucracy

**_Chapter 3  
Enter the Bureaucracy_**

A blast of light and re-arrangement of molecules later, we arrived directly in front of the Bureaucratic Office of Heaven. Yep, the ultimate source of evil in the universe. Nah, I'm kidding, but it is quite an imposing building. It's not exactly a work of art, unlike the Palace of Heaven and the Temple of Balance, but it is nevertheless an architectural marvel in at least one way or another. The Bureaucratic Office is what you would call a skyscraper, a tower that shoots straight up into the sky.

Of course, it is structurally much more stable than any mortal work of architecture. One reason is its inner Drakonium skeleton, that can support massive amounts of weight and also allows the building to bend with any outer forces that put pressure on it (especially certain "divine actions" that are the work of the Wind Gods). The rest of the structure, the part we could see I mean, was likely constructed with Zarumine. The only problem is that… why would anyone use Zarumine, with its ability to change color, if they're going to make it all black and gray? The God of Bureaucracy must love all things gloomy and depressing…

We quickly stepped into the office, me unwilling to look at such an ominous building from the outside. The inside was only slightly more pleasant, what with the appearance of a typical office. Piles and piles of paperwork lay scattered all over, which the various receptionists attempted to sort while simultaneously welcoming the new gods applying for their licenses. The office workers typed rapidly into their large keyboards, while speaking to several voices on many different phone lines and instant message windows. All in all, a horrific nightmare of chaos.

The four of us were instantly ushered over by a female worker, with long blond hair and a headset strapped around her head. "Hello, there!" she greeted cheerfully. "How are you doing today? You are here for a Creation License, correct?" As she asked this, her hands soared around the desk, seizing various papers and adding them (sorting along the way, I hope) to the massive stacks lying around her desk, threatening to careen over at any moment.

I already liked this girl. She seemed professional and friendly at the same time, instead of merely one at a time like many other workers. She was probably a Greater Spirit employed by the God of Bureaucracy. After we confirmed the answer to her question, she added, "Well, aren't you lucky? You get to work with me, the one and only Atrius! Okay, so hand in your paperwork that you already filled out…"

We complied, by quickly handing her a multitude of scrolls. I looked at Din, noticing her look of intense relief, most likely to be rid of such horrible papers. Atrius turned to her computer, rapidly tapping away some confusing commands. She snapped her delicate fingers and all our dozens of scrolls popped open and flew into a nearby device. Light began to shoot out of the machines and when we looked again, our scrolls were gone!

"What did you do?!" demanded Din. "I worked long and hard on those idiotic scrolls and you just incinerated them!? Just like _that_?"

Din almost blew her top, but instead she calmed down when Atrius flipped her computer monitor around toward us. Oh, so the device was a scanner of some sort, for I could see all our paperwork right on the computer screen. Atrius explained, "Those were your preliminary forms, so that we have all the information needed for your Creation Licenses." Tapping a single key, Atrius flipped through all our scrolls, checking for any missing words or spaces in the dozens of papers.

"Perfect," muttered Atrius, her eyes flicking across the screen. "Great! You have all the info needed, you guys!" That was it? I tried to hide my surprise at her speed. You all know how bureaucracies are known for being filled with unnecessary process? Yeah, this was actually _really _fast… But, then, something weird happened.

"Okay, Link, you're up first," ordered Atrius. "Place your hand on this panel; I need to confirm one last thing…" A button was pressed and a hand-shaped device popped out of nowhere. Startled, I quickly placed my palm upon the machine. It began to glow white as it scanned my hand. "That's it!" exclaimed Atrius, typing in a code.

Nearby, there was a machine I could tell was a printer. Before my eyes, a cute little card printed out and, as I picked it up, I observed that my lovely picture was plastered right in the middle. On the right, it listed my name, title, and trivial details like that. On the left, in huge letters, the plastic card announced to the world, "RANK B!" All gods are given power ranking (no, we don't use numbers like 9000 or anything like that) based on letters. S, A, B, C, D, and F… In order from greatest to weakest. I wonder which rank the God of Cow Manure is…

I'm moderately powerful, so I only get a simple B. I grinned suddenly, as I realized that I finally got a Creation License! I was quite pleased. Then I glanced at the computer screen as it showed the Three Goddesses' papers, right where it said in large letters, "RANK S!" Wait, Rank S?! My eyes then widened, as I never realized up until that point just how powerful these girls were.

"You guys are Rank S?!" I exclaimed in shock.

"Yes," replied Nayru simply. "The only gods before us to have such a rank were our parents, Link. It is only natural that we are nearly as powerful as them, don't you agree?"

"I suppose," I muttered, now feeling a bit embarrassed about me only having a boring old B. I had never thought the Three Goddesses would be nearly as strong as their parents.

"That's how it is, Link!" Farore told me. "It's just like genetics, isn't that right Nayru?"

"In a way, yes," replied Nayru.

We were then torn from this conversation by something Atrius said. "Okay, so you three just scanned your hands in, right?" The three sisters nodded slowly, as they seemed to realize something was wrong. "It appears as if… my commands here to issue your cards are… being denied."

"What?!" cried out Din, voice filled with outrage. "Why?" she wanted to know.

"I don't quite understand, either!" replied Atrius, confusion entering her voice as she tapped in the commands time and time again, each time the word "Denied" answering her by appearing rudely upon the smooth computer screen.

Nayru again remained the voice of reason as the majority of us began to panic. "Atrius, the best course of action is to call the troubleshooting department. Why don't you go ahead and do that?" she suggested, as quiet and calm as always.

Atrius nodded firmly and vigorously as she reached for a nearby phone. Quickly smacking in a number, she waited as the phone went through a dial tone. I knew that the machine was processing our call at extremely fast speeds, but even I grew anxious when it seemed like no one was picking up the phone in the tech support department.

At last, we heard the faint greeting on the other end, "Hello? Society of Heaven Tech Support, how may I help you today?"

"We've got a problem here," began Atrius. She delved into a short explanation about how the Three Goddesses' requests for Creation Licenses were being denied for some strange reason. "What's that? You're directing us over to the God of Tech Support(1)? Isn't this just a simply access problem?" asked Atrius suddenly, upon hearing what the other Greater Spirit on the Tech Support was saying.

"Let me guess," said Din. "There's a problem he didn't want to deal with and now he's sending us somewhere _else_?"

"Correct." Atrius nodded slowly and added, "It seems as if… there's a bigger problem than we realize." As the phone clicked on, Atrius pressed a button to put the phone on speaker so we could all hear the following statement.

"So, the Three Goddesses, eh?" asked the God of Tech Support in his hurried tone. "Towako here. We've been trying to break that problem this entire morning, see? And we've kept this whole thing secret, 'cause you know how Torvanos would freak if his daughters were denied, right?" I noted Towako's annoying habit of ending all sentences as questions.

"What's the problem?!" Farore burst out, unable to contain her excitement and anxiety any longer. "Tell us!" she demanded.

"Oh, I gotta tell you first before we can try and fix this?" Towako asked. "Yeah, it seems… there's some sort of virus in our system!" he declared in a dramatic tone, obviously designed to shock us.

"What!?" we all cried out, exactly as he had planned. A virus(2)? In the computers of the gods? This would be the first time in the history of… ever!

"A virus? That's impossible!" I exclaimed with a chuckle. But the uncertainty surfaced again and I added nervously, "It is, isn't it? There's no one who could make something like that!"

"I hope that you are correct," began Nayru softly. "However," she continued with a touch of anxiety, "there is indeed a god with the power to create a deadly virus like the one plaguing these computers."

Din's eyes widened with sudden understanding at Nayru's remark. "Oh gods, you don't—you can't—mean... It couldn't possibly be…"

"I think she's right, Din," realized Farore slowly. "He's the only one who could manage something as outrageous as this!" The sisters seemed to instantly understand each other without much explanation. Of course, I was left out.

I had already given up on understanding what they were talking about. I couldn't take it anymore when they started to talk rapidly to each other in undertones so I finally had to cry out, "Who the heck are you guys talking about!?" The three of them were silent, however, as if not wanting to explain the truth to me.

Then, it was Nayru who at last spoke to me. She told me, "Link, think back to the ceremony several days ago. It was obvious that before the Selection Ceremony that no one besides the God of Computers had the ability to create a virus like this."

"So? That would mean that no one has the ability to do that now… Wait!" Understanding finally dawned on me. "There's a new god with that power, isn't there?"

"Definitely!" answered Din, nodding her head vigorously. "Think about it Link! Which god would be able to do _that_? It's pretty obvious if you just stop for a minute."

My mind had been rushing around every since the revelation of a virus, but I slowly calmed myself down to think. Think… Oh. So _that's_ who they meant, eh? "Zayrin," I whispered.

"Exactly!" agreed Farore. "Our brother is stronger than he looks. As the God of Trickery, he can weave in and out of rules as if they aren't even there!"

"Still, there's another issue," chimed in Nayru. "Why would Zayrin do this? Specifically shut only us out of the system, I mean. Someone else is obviously behind this. Maybe—" Nayru clearly was going to tell us who it was, except something interrupted her as if to confirm her suspicions.

Before the Goddess of Wisdom could explain her revelation, the entire computer system in the Bureaucratic Office of Heaven crashed, in a single instant. Every monitor turned pitch black and the incessant humming of machinery stopped abruptly. Throughout the building, not a sound stirred, as if everyone was too shocked to do a thing. The lights stayed on for a moment but then followed suit with the computers by flickering on and off until the room in which we were standing was completely dark.

"Well, at least this couldn't get any worse!" I added. As if to reply, the computer in front of us decided to spontaneously combust into a pile of ashes. Oops.

I quickly amended, "Okay, now _this_ can't get any w—"

Din nudged me and hissed, "Link, shut up. Please."

(1)The God of Tech Support's name is Towako. He's one of the youngest gods around, besides the ones who just… graduated if you know what I mean. His older brother, the God of Computers, is called Wamico. Wamico was the one who influenced the whole "computer age" thing on this world called Earth, followed by Towako creating the idea of Tech Support when the computers got too crazy for normal people to understand.

(2)Viruses tend to only exist in the mortal worlds, where their shoddy systems are easier to break into and destroy than divine operating systems. There is very little than can screw with a god's computer, so viruses, spyware and spam end up being difficult to create in the divine world.


End file.
